Communist-era oppositionist receives Lech Kaczynski Award
Andrzej Gwiazda, a communist-era opposition activist and co-founder of the Solidarity trade union, was presented with the Lech Kaczynski Award on Friday.
The award is granted by the Polish President Lech Kaczynski Social Movement to outstanding people who serve the Polish nation.
A special gala held at the PGE National Stadium in Warsaw was attended by President Andrzej Duda, Sejm (lower house) and Senate speakers Marek Kuchcinski and Stanislaw Karczewski, ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and the daughter of the late President Lech Kaczynski, Marta Kaczynska, who heads the Polish President Lech Kaczynski Social Movement.
"I feel enormous satisfaction accepting this award. The biggest satisfaction comes from the idea behind the award", Gwiazda said at the ceremony.
He pointed out that in communist times Lech Kaczynski had risked his academic position to take part in independence activity, secretly teaching law to people who later became teachers and respected lawyers in their communities.
The late president also contributed greatly to restoring remembrance of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, Gwiazda added.
Throughout his activity, Lech Kaczynski manifested "not only wisdom and empathy but also courage", Gwiazda also said, adding that for this quality alone the late president deserved to be remembered, "because wisdom without courage is usually a virtue not much needed and not very useful".
Preserving the memory of Lech Kaczynski "is just as important for the nation as remembrance of the soldiers of the pro-independence underground, remembrance of the Home Army (AK) soldiers who fought against the Germans, remembrance of the soldiers fighting for Poland's independence with the other invader", according to Gwiazda.
President Duda expressed gratitude that the award had been granted to Gwiazda, who had been extremely important to the late President Lech Kaczynski.
"He was not only someone whom President Lech Kaczynski considered to be his older friend, but someone whom the president certainly considered a role model, an indomitable patriot", President Duda said.
He underlined that Gwiazda had been one of the first people to receive Poland's highest distinction - the Order of the White Eagle - from President Lech Kaczynski, for "activity for the benefit of a democratic and free Poland".
Gwiazda's whole life has been a path of striving for a free and sovereign Poland, a Poland of truth, President Duda remarked, adding that "this was exactly what President Lech Kaczynski valued so highly".
One could say that Lech Kaczynski and Andrzej Gwiazda "marched together" in "independence, freedom, community and civic" activity, according to the president. "One could say that Mr Andrzej Gwiazda is the true author of the Solidarity idea", Duda said.
He added that Gwiazda had always been true to ideals which had also been important to President Lech Kaczynski: that Poland should be just, based on the truth, and democratic "in the honest, real meaning of the word".
President Lech Kaczynski and Gwiazda definitely had one quality in common, according to the president: they were "terribly persistent" in striving for exactly such a Poland.
Marta Kaczynska described Gwiazda as "uncompromising and honest" and pointed out that he was still very active, taking part in meetings with young people and speaking about history.
Andrzej Gwiazda was a co-founder of the Solidarity trade union and a signatory of the August Accords in 1980. (PAP)
dj/
